Become a Volunteer

Become a SCORE Volunteer and Make Dreams Come True

Every year, SCORE volunteers help thousands of entrepreneurs start small businesses and achieve new levels of success in their existing businesses. Volunteering at SCORE is a way for you to give back to your community, connect with fellow business owners, and pass on your knowledge and expertise to the next generation of entrepreneurs in your community. It is highly rewarding personally. Membership includes both working and retired business-people.

SCORE volunteers provide confidential business mentoring services, both in person and online. We lead seminars and workshops to help small business owners meet their goals and achieve success. We help expand outreach of SCORE through marketing and alliance building in our local communities. We provide subject matter expertise by industries and professional skills.

How You Can Help - Experience Matters:

Volunteering with SCORE means you are joining a community of 11,000 diverse volunteers who are all committed to helping small business owners succeed. Whether you have owned your own small business, come from a Fortune 500 company, retired, college student, have a sincere commitment for helping small businesses or volunteering, there is a place for you as SCORE volunteer.

The Buffalo Niagara SCORE Chapter is looking for men and women with significant business experience of at least 10 years as owner and operator of a small business or meaningful experience with larger companies.

Volunteers to SCORE provide:

Assistance to help small businesses in our region grow and prosper

Counseling and mentoring to small companies

Presenting business topics at workshops and seminars

Coordinating special events such as trade shows, speaking engagements, business round tables, etc.

Managing chapter operations

Developing SCORE marketing programs

Helping to keep the SCORE organization running

Serve in a leadership capacity with SCORE

Have flexibility with your volunteering time

What You Can Expect from SCORE?

SCORE members receive many rewards, including:

Being an integral part of the premier small business assistance group in the USA

Providing leadership in the business community

Deriving satisfaction from giving back to the Western New York community using skills derived from your personal experience

Enjoying the opportunity to teach in a variety of workshops

Meeting monthly with other volunteers who share your values

Growing personally and professionally

Experiencing lifelong learning

Finding new friendships with fellow SCORE members and others

Gaining recognition and respect as a business mentor

What SCORE expects from its volunteers:

Volunteers agree to contribute in a meaningful way for the activities described above. There is flexibility in volunteer roles and times and locations to accommodate busy work and/or retirement schedules.

Volunteers are required to sign a non-conflict of interest ethics code. We have a number of counseling locations around Western New York state with a principle office co-located with the Small Business Administration at 540 Niagara Center, 130 South Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202. Initial counseling is typically held at this office or one of our suburban or rural satellite locations. Follow-up counseling is arranged for the mutual convenience of the volunteer and the client. Counseling and mentoring can be in support of a variety of businesses ranging from the earliest stages of entrepreneurial investigation to clients who are well established in business.

Proprietary SCORE training includes hands-on participation in SCORE counseling sessions, in SCORE workshops, online SCORE training courses and in person with members of the SCORE team.

Training is typically completed within 90 days of acceptance of the candidate as a provisional member. During this period you and the chapter have the mutual opportunity to evaluate the opportunity.

Current Needs - Experience Matters:

With Buffalo Niagara SCORE experience matters and everyone contributes. There are dozens of important ways to contribute and to be part of the great SCORE Association organization. We currently have openings for business professionals with general experience as outlined above and are especially interested in the following specific experience and skills:

Marketing and sales

Marketing program development and implementation

Copyrighting

Promotional material design

Sales techniques

All aspects of public relations

Recruiting

Banking / Financing / Accounting

Insurance / Risk Management

Retail sales

Small business operations

Selling to the New York State Government

Selling to the Federal Government

Export and import

Teaching – workshop faculty

Event organization and management

Curriculum design

Join SCORE Today

Share your experience. Register today and complete the application by clicking on the button below "BECOME a SCORE VOLUNTEER TODAY!" or Download to print the application and send it to the address provided.